Career and Business Consultant.
A 23 year Navy veteran with 20 years of progressive experience in brand marketing, career counseling, world travel and veteran consulting. Founder and Co-Owner of MVOSS Creation LLC who manages and directs the following organization - serving the community of Virginia Beach and around the globe:
• Mvoss Creation Promotional Products
• LifeWise Consulting
• Chiefpreneur

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Counseling, Old Age and Medication

Summarize the following factors that are associated with the use of medication for the treatment of mental disorders in the elderly. Write two sentences for each summary:Polypharmacy. Drug compliance. Side effects. Drug metabolism. Drug costs. Food-drug interactions. Other factors that you view as important.

My Answer:1. Polypharmacy or the use of multiply medication is critical for the Elderly patients. They use more medications than younger patients and the trend of increasing drug use continues through 80 years of age. Studies conducted in a variety of settings have shown that patients over 65 years of age use an average of 2 to 6 prescribed medications and 1 to 3.4 non-prescribed medications (Stewart and Cooper, 1994).

2. Drug compliance. The consequences of drug noncompliance or the correct following of medical advice may be serious in older patients. Estimates of the extent of noncompliance in the elderly vary, ranging from 40% to a high of 75%. Three common forms of drug treatment noncompliance are found in the elderly: overuse and abuse, forgetting, and alteration of schedules and doses (Salzman and Kupfer, 1995).

4. Drug metabolism or the set of chemical reactions of drugs is significant with the elderly. Aging is accompanied by marked changes in the physiology of many organs, as well as in their constituent cells. These nonpathological alterations in structure and/or function may affect normal physiological processes in the elderly (individuals >65 years) (Schmucker, 2001).

5. Drug costs particularly to elderly have not only had economic impact but health is affected. The increased cost-sharing for prescription drugs in elderly persons and welfare recipients was followed by reductions in use of essential drugs and a higher rate of serious adverse events and ED visits associated with these reductions (Tamblyn, 2001).

6. Food-drug interactions. Interactions between food and drugs may inadvertently reduce or increase the drug effect. The majority of clinically relevant food-drug interactions are caused by food-induced changes in the bioavailability of the drug (Schmidt, Lars and Dalhoff, 2002).

7. Many elderly needs further assistance in monitoring their taking of medication. As age progress so does the number of prescription drugs is taken. The difficulty is not just in keeping track of the right medication and the side effects due to polypharmacy but the elderly has lesser capacity to scrutinize and avoid jeopardizing their health due to all the above cases as they keep themselves healthy and live longer.

References:

Masand PS (2000).Side effects of antipsychotics in the elderly. Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York, Syracuse 13210, USA. Retrieved on December 2, 2008 at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10811243

Stewart RB, Cooper JW (1994).Polypharmacy in the aged. Practical solutions.Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida. Retrieved on December 2, 2008 at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8075473

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Insights and Sights from a Veteran Career Advisor, Business Consultant and Social Media manager.

23 year Navy veteran with 20 years of progressive experience in world travel, career counseling, education advising and veteran consulting. Owner of MVOSS Creation LLC who manages and directs the following organization - serving the community of Virginia Beach and around the globe:

• Career Wise– provides current and most up to date information on veteran benefits, career development, and other transition support. With almost 17,000 combined social media subscribers serving those who are in transition seeking current information and guidance consist mostly of Navy counselors, active duty members, veterans and military family.

• MVOSS Consulting– creates meeting and unconference to Hampton Roads area (Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Hampton and Portsmouth) and other nearby area in Mid-Atlantic providing education and training to prepare those who are in transition. Bartering other services with consultation and counseling. • Pinoy Puro – advice and cultural assistance providing video, photography services and career guidance to local Filipino communities.

Institute of Career Certification International - Director for Social Media

Active Membership: Knights of Columbus, Trusted Compass, BizConnect, Rotary Club, local church, Toastmasters, Shepherd’s Guide, Institute of Career Professional and National Career Development Association